The
Siting Board continued its statewide outreach effort,
publishing a quarterly update, adding two brochures
to its arsenal of informational materials, establishing
a Web page, and discussing the issue of siting a
disposal facility in New Jersey at a variety of
public forums. These efforts have helped put the
issue of public responsibility for low-level radioactive
waste into the arena of public policy issues that
need to be addressed. Certainly, many more New Jerseyans
now have an appreciation of the issues (even if
most are reluctant to site a disposal facility in
their backyard).

Residents
of several communities, including Bethlehem and Delaware
Townships (Hunterdon County), South Harrison Township
(Gloucester County), and Carneys Point Township (Salem
County) initiated public discussions that indicated
preliminary interest in learning about the issues
with an eye toward volunteering to host the disposal
facility.

The voluntary siting process
continued to garner favorable press coverage, not
only in towns in which active discussion was going
on, but in more general articles on the need for securing
a dependable, long-term disposal option for New Jersey
generators.

The
Board provided funding to the Rutgers University Environmental
Sciences Training Center to develop a series of fact
sheets on various aspects of radiation science and
low-level radioactive waste; and the New Jersey Office
of Dispute Settlement to develop a sourcebook of organizations
that provide information on low-level radioactive
waste from diverse perspectives and points of view.
The Board also asked the National Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Management Program/Idaho National Engineering
and Environmental Laboratory to develop a question-and-answer
booklet, Answers to Some Often Asked Questions
About Low-Level Radioactive Waste, that addresses
issues that have surfaced during the Board's dialogue
with communities.

The
Board's siting consultant, Foster Wheeler Environmental
Corporation, developed a quality assurance program
and began developing detailed procedures for performing
field work in preparation for characterizing potential
sites. Foster Wheeler assisted the Board in revising
the Preliminary Site Investigation Program
to better meet the needs of potential host communities.

Because
it has become clear to the Board that the reduced
volume of low-level radioative waste generated in
New Jersey combined with the short-term availability
of disposal in South Carolina and Utah call into question
the need to pursue siting a facility in New Jersey
at this time, the Board voted to suspend the siting
process at its February 1998 monthly meeting.

The
Board will prepare a "Report to the Governor
and the Legislature" which will recount the lessons
the Board has learned during the siting process and
enumerate a list of recommendations for the time when
the need to find a site again becomes an imperative.

As
the Board redefines its mission, it will continue
to track the management of low-level radioactive waste
in New Jersey and monitor the availability of disposal
options nationally.

The
Board will be updating the New Jersey Low-Level
Radioactive Waste Disposal Plan to provide information
on current and projected low-level radioactive waste
management needs, disposal alternatives, transportation
impacts, and economic viability. In addition, the
Board will continue to evaluate the current and projected
availability of disposal capacity for New Jersey generators.

The
Board will reduce its staff size, consolidate its
office operations, and cut back its activities.

The
Board will seek to promote greater public knowledge
of the management of low-level radioactive waste.

The
Board will continue to interact with and support the
activities of the Northeast Compact Commission in
its role to ensure safe, reliable disposal of low-level
radioactive waste.

*Eagleton
Institute of Politics, Center for Public Interest
Polling, Rutgers University

$21,226

**Environmental
Sciences Training Center, Rutgers University

$40,700

Foster
Wheeler Environmental Corporation

$245,090

New
Jersey Chapter, League of Women Voters Education Fund

$10,000

Northeast
Compact Commission

$74,214

*The
Eagleton Institute conducted a poll of residents of Fairfield
(Cumberland County) after the Township publicly considered
and then rejected volunteering to host the disposal facility.
The poll was designed to help the Board gain insights into
what citizens
knew and believed about the issues surrounding low-level radioactive
waste in order to help the Board better respond to concerns
that might be raised by residents of other communities.

**The
Environmental Sciences Training Center researched, wrote,
and printed a series of "Fact Sheets" on radiation
and low-level radioactive waste.